Changing oils, need advice.

[SonOfChaos]

Hello,

My current vehicle is a 2002 Mazda Protege, 100,000 miles. Last couple of times I have changed my oil I have used Amsoil. I am thinking about changing cause a)I've moved and finding dealers can be a pain, b)money is tight.

Currently I am thinking about going with M1, should I?
Other recommendations?
My only desire it that it be something reasonably priced that I can buy off the shelf.

Bonus Question: What kind/how much should I spend on a new oil filter?

 

[ueberooo]

IMO just run dino (or a blend) 10w30. Go to the firestone, or buy by the gallon and DIY. Either way, it'll run between $15 and $20 with the filter and all.

I'm not a big fan of SM oils, but that's all you get thanks to a super sized buerocracy that feels like everthing needs to be regulated and everybody micromanaged. So, IMO it;s worth it to toss in some moly and Zinc afterwards, to boost zinc to 1200 ppm where it should be.

 

[joel95ex]

If you want to continue syn, then PP or M1. otherwise with dino, you could run Pennzoil conventional, mobil clean 5000. those seem to be the favorites around here. Might I add that I just passed 345K miles on my accord and have used a ton of supertech (walmart), Castrol GTX, Pennzoil conventional, and MC5K. as far as filters, most people recommend speding a couple extra bucks and getting a WIX/napa gold, or a purolator pureone. fram is hated my some, but for 3 to 4K OCI's i have never had a problem. For a grand total of 15 to 25 bucks, you can have a great oil change. also remember that there are many promos/rebates that can bring the price very low. i just got PP AND a filter for about $10 after the rebate.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Few times a year you can get Pennzoil Platinum, Valvoline Synpower ... for $1/qt or less after mail-in rebate(s), couple with Purolator or Motorcraft oil filter you can have an oil change for less than $10 if you do it yourself.

If most your trips are more than 15-20 miles, then group III synthetic can be in your engine up to 10k miles.

I have different brand name synthetic oils in my 2000 MB E430, from M1 to PP to Synpower, I bought whatever on sale, with rebate most of the times, I don't believe in sticking with one brand. This car need synthetic oil if I follow the oil life monitor.

The other car is 2004 Honda S2000, it had both conventional and synthetic and I could not feel any differences between the two when driving. The only advantage of synthetic is longer OCI's.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Go to sub-forum "Product Rebates, Sales and Promotions" for current sale and/or rebate on oil, oil filetr, air filter ... Buying oil+filter on sale can save you more than 50% regular prices, sometimes you can get free oil+filter after rebate too (actually, it costs you sale tax and stamp). Last spring I got 20 quarts Peak oil and 4 Proline oil filters for less than $4 (tax + stamp) after rebate from Pep Boys.

 

[milwaukee]

The difference between the best synthetic and common SM dino is very small under 7500oci. I would use the cheapest name brand dino.

 

[hominid7]

You can get Mazda OEM Nippon filters for your car for around 3 to 4 dollars a piece online. I just bought some for my 626 at autopartsplace.com. I've tried many filters and like the OEM ones the best. I buy several at a time to save on shipping.

As for oil, if it were my car, i'd stick with either Motorcraft synthetic blend or an inexpensive name brand dino like Pennzoil, Exxon Superflo or Quakerstate. Synthetics are great, but in my opinion they may be over-kill for your application, unless you plan on running extended drain intervals. Just find something thats available in your area in convenient 4 or 5 quart jugs.

I believe your owners manual calls for 5w30 or 10w30, depending on temperature. Either should do fine, but in the Florida heat, 10w30 year round may be your best bet. Mazda allows 10w30 to be used at any temp above -13*F in that engine, IIRC.

 

[tig1]

M1 has been an excellant oil for me for 31 years. Very clean and long lived engines and easy to find.